Trump won't say if he will accept results

Republican candidate Donald Trump on Wednesday would not commit to accepting the outcome of the November 8 US presidential election if he loses, challenging a cornerstone of American democracy and sending shockwaves across the political spectrum.

Trump's refusal, which his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton called "horrifying," was the standout remark of their third and final debate and ratcheted up claims he has made for weeks that the election was rigged against him.

Asked by moderator Chris Wallace whether Trump would not commit to a peaceful transition of power, the businessman-turned-politician replied: "What I'm saying is that I will tell you at the time. I'll keep you in suspense. Ok?" Trump's statement may appeal to his anti-establishment followers, but it was unlikely to reverse opinion polls that show him losing, including in key states that will decide the election. (Where Clinton and Trump stand on key issues)

"That is not the way our democracy works," Clinton said during the debate. "We've been around for 240 years. We've had free and fair elections. We've accepted the outcomes when we may not have liked them. And that is what must be expected of anyone standing on a debate stage during a general election." Later she told reporters: "What he said tonight is part of his whole effort to blame somebody else for where he is in his campaign."

A CNN/ORC snap poll said 52 per cent thought Clinton, the former US secretary of state, won the debate while 39 per cent said Trump, a former reality TV star making his first run at public office, was the victor.

In financial markets Mexico's peso currency, seen as a measure of Trump's prospects, rose to its highest level in six weeks at the end of the debate, suggesting growing investor confidence of a Clinton victory. Trump has vowed to build a wall on the border with Mexico to keep out illegal immigrants and has said he would make Mexico pay for it. Mainstream Republicans were quick to denounce the comment.

US Senator Lindsey Graham, a former Republican presidential candidate who has never warmed to Trump, said: "If he loses, it will not be because the system is 'rigged' but because he failed as a candidate."

Neoconservative Bill Kristol, editor of The Weekly Standard political magazine, tweeted: "I deplore what Trump said and refused to say about accepting the election results. Confirms one's judgment he shouldn't be president."

Trump campaign manager Kellyanne Conway on Thursday defended the comment in a round of television interviews, saying he was "putting people on notice" about voting irregularities.

"We'll have to see what happens," she told ABC News, adding that Trump "was willing to accept the election absent widespread fraud." US Representative Tom Marino, a Pennsylvania Republican and early Trump supporter, likened it to a television show style "tease" in a National Public Radio interview on Thursday.

Trump's running mate, vice presidential nominee Mike Pence, said Trump "will accept the outcome" because he is going to win.

But Republican strategist Ryan Williams found Trump's statement "deeply concerning."

"You have to accept the results of the election unless there are grounds for a recount and at this point it does not appear that we're heading for a close election," he said.
Reuters